All Chapters of THE BIKER'S NEW FOUND MATE : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The silence after Jacks's revelation felt like a noose tightening around all our necks.Nine people stood in the ruins. Nine people knew Jacks was cooperating. And one of them had just told the cartel everything.I looked around the circle. My father, gray and dying but fierce. Knox, calculating and controlled. Ruby, bleeding but unbowed. Derek, the brother who might hate Albert enough to destroy him. Sienna, my best friend who always seemed to know too much. Tommy, the traitor we were trusting out of desperation. Jacks himself, broken but desperate. Albert, the man I just promised myself to in a collapsing building.And me.One of us was lying. One of us wanted everyone here dead."Nobody moves," Knox said quietly. "Everyone puts their phones on the ground. Now.""You think someone called while we were standing here?" Derek asked."I think someone got a message out somehow. Phones. Now."We complied. Nine phones in a pile on the blood-stained dirt. Knox picked through them, checking

The flames painted everything orange and red.I could not breathe. Smoke filled my lungs, acrid and choking. Through the inferno, I searched for Albert's body. For any sign he was still alive."Albert!" My voice was raw. "Albert, answer me!"Gunfire still popped in the distance. Sirens wailed, getting closer. The grenade had turned the street into a war zone.Strong hands grabbed me from behind. I fought, thinking it was cartel, but then I heard my father's voice."Eva, stop! It is me!"I spun. Marcus was bleeding from a dozen cuts, his face black with soot. "Dad, Albert is—he was right there—""I know. Knox is looking for him. We need to get you out of here before the cops arrive." He pulled me toward the van."No! I am not leaving without him!""Eva, listen to me—"Derek appeared through the smoke, carrying something over his shoulder. Someone. I saw the leather cut, the dark hair matted with blood.Albert."Is he alive?" I broke free from my father and ran to Derek."Barely. Bullet

California smelled like salt air and possibilities.I rented a small apartment in San Diego, three blocks from the beach, paid for with money Albert had transferred to my account. Blood money, club money, money earned through violence and loyalty to a world I was trying to leave behind.But it bought me windows that faced the ocean and mornings without gunfire.That had to count for something.Thirty days passed in a blur of silence. No explosions. No threats. No family drama or club politics or people trying to kill me. Just waves and seagulls and the strange emptiness of safety.I got a job at a youth center, working with kids who reminded me too much of Tommy. Lost and angry and looking for belonging in all the wrong places. I told myself I could save them. That I could be the person nobody was for me.But every night I came home alone and thought about Albert.His gray eyes. His possessive touch. The way he said my name like it was something sacred instead of just a word.I had no

Chicago smelled like diesel and old money.We arrived at midnight with twelve Vipers, eight Reapers, and a plan that was either brilliant or suicidal. Knox had called in every favor owed to both clubs. Hammer had contacted his Chicago connections. Albert had mapped out Diane's known operations—three restaurants, two shipping companies, and a luxury hotel downtown.We were going to hit all of them in one night."Remember, we are not here to kill civilians," Albert said as we geared up in the warehouse we had rented. "We hit her businesses, destroy her infrastructure, send a message. But we do this clean.""Define clean," one of the Vipers said."Nobody dies who is not actively trying to kill us first.""That is surprisingly ethical for a man nicknamed Ghost.""My wife is a good influence." Albert looked at me. "You are staying in the van with Knox. Coordinating communications. Not fighting.""We talked about this—""And I told you I need you safe. This is not negotiable, Eva.""Actuall

We made it five blocks before the car exploded.Not ours. The one in front of us. A Viper prospect's vehicle erupted in flames, metal and glass raining down on the street. Albert swerved hard, narrowly missing the debris."Everyone out!" he shouted. "Now!"We dove from the car as bullets shattered the windows. I hit the pavement hard, rolling behind a concrete barrier. Albert was beside me instantly, gun drawn, scanning for shooters."Rooftops!" Knox's voice came through the radio. "Multiple snipers! Three, maybe four!""Where the hell is our security?" Albert demanded."Dead." Hammer's voice, grim. "Someone hit them first. Professional job. We are compromised."I pressed against the barrier, feeling bullets chip away the concrete inches from my head. My hand instinctively went to my stomach. The baby. I was pregnant and trapped in a firefight."Eva, stay down!" Albert fired toward a rooftop. "Do not move until I clear a path!""Where are we going?""Anywhere but here!" He grabbed my